


A Quiet Spot of Hunting

by solarishashernoseinabook



Series: For the Rest of Our Lives [2]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Fluff, Hunters & Hunting, M/M, RA Fanfic Challenge, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22322620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarishashernoseinabook/pseuds/solarishashernoseinabook
Summary: When Baron Arald decides to recreate the first hunt Will ever went on, Will and Horace find a bit of time to bond all to themselves
Relationships: Horace Altman/Will Treaty
Series: For the Rest of Our Lives [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646935
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39
Collections: RA Fanfiction Challenge #1





	A Quiet Spot of Hunting

**Author's Note:**

> Huge shout out to aseikh for being an enthusiastic beta reader! You rock! <3

Will woke up when a mug of steaming coffee was put on his bedside table. He closed his eyes more when the sunlight hit them and put his arm over his eyes. 

  
‘Up,’ Halt said. ‘Today’s the day.’ 

‘What day?’ Will mumbled. 

‘The day of Arald’s hunt.’ 

‘I’ve spent the past month on a mission,’ Will said. ‘Lotta nighttime sneaking. I’m tired.’ 

‘I know,’ Halt said. ‘That’s why I let you sleep in. The hunt starts in fifteen minutes.’ 

In moments Will jumped up, swirled his cloak around his shoulders, drained his coffee, and rushed out. 

Halt allowed himself a rare smirk. There was still an hour to go before the hunt. 

*

It was almost strange. It had been ten years since the boar hunt Will had been on with Arald in the early days of his apprenticeship. With Arald getting older, he wanted to recreate the memorable hunt and had invited everyone who was there to join them. Will felt a strange feeling of déjà vu as he rode Tug between Halt and Horace, Arald ahead of them. 

There were minor changes. Arald’s hairline was receding and was mostly grey now. Horace had grown a short beard. Will felt he had changed the most, though. Now he was more confident, no longer trying to impress everyone, and happy with his life. He was going into the hunt with a smile, and excited to try the heavy spear Arald had equipped everyone with. 

Arald held up his hand and everyone stopped. A small group of boars were clustered at a shallow stream ahead, feeding on old crabapples that had fallen from a grove of trees surrounding the stream. Arald looked back at everyone. ‘Our first step is to separate them. When you have one cornered, blow your horn at intervals so we can follow you there.’ 

Everyone nodded. Arald slapped his horse’s rump and charged forward, everyone else following. 

Will glanced at Horace. A large boar with magnificent tusks was in front of him. Horace nodded and diverted his horse to converge on the boar. The boar wheeled to the left and through the thick of the trees. 

Horace fell behind here, and it was no wonder why: even Will, with his small stature and on Tug’s diminutive size, was having trouble under the trees. He had to duck a couple smaller branches, but couldn’t avoid the twigs slapping at his face. Eventually he had to get off and patted Tug’s side. ‘Sorry, buddy. I’ll let you know how it goes.’ 

Tug tossed his head and rolled his eyes. _It’d be more fun with me there._

‘I know, I know,’ Will murmured. He pulled up his hood, hefted his spear, and crept through the trees. 

He saw the boar in a clearing. Will recognised it. This was _the_ clearing – the clearing where he’d almost died on the first boar hunt. He remembered it so vividly – Arald making the final killing blow, Halt jumping off Abelard to pull him into a bone-crushing hug, Horace…him and Horace becoming friends that day. 

He knelt by the base of a tree. The boar was still too alert. If he blew his horn now he’d lose it for sure – or worse, it would attack him. Let the boar calm down, make sure it was staying in this area, then maybe if Horace showed up he could ask him to get the others so they didn’t spook the boar—

Will heard Horace behind him. Perhaps it was just that Will was so used to silent movement, but Horace always sounded like a giant crashing through wherever he went. The boar was already raising his head, and Will could only hope Horace would quiet down—

Then Horace tripped over him, falling into the clearing, and the boar was gone in a flash. 

‘Horace!’ Will sputtered. He’d fallen face-first into the dirt when Horace tripped on him and spat out a mouthful of leaves and dirt. Horace twisted around, mud staining the front of his white surcoat. ‘Will,’ he gasped.

‘Sorry, I didn’t see you—’ 

‘Well, too late now,’ Will said bitterly. ‘We’ll never track that boar down now.’ 

Horace sighed and sat against a massive tree on the edge of the clearing, and Will sat next to him. ‘…Remember this place, Horace?’ 

‘Yeah. That was one hell of a day, wasn’t it?’ 

Will snorted. ‘You can say that again.’ 

‘I’ve been on hunts since, but none of them were quite like that one.’ 

Will smiled. ‘…It was the start of our friendship.’ 

‘About that,’ Horace began, but Will shook his head. ‘If you’re gonna apologise again—’ he began. 

‘No, I…I want to explain more,’ Horace said. He took a deep breath and said, ‘I was jealous of you back then.’ 

‘Jealous?’ Will said. 

‘You were – are – quick, smart, and popular in the ward. You could make people laugh…usually at my expense.’ 

‘Ah…sorry about that,’ Will said. 

Horace grinned. ‘Nah, I deserved it back then. I just didn’t see it. But yeah, I was jealous, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. So…sorry.’ 

Will smiled. ‘It’s okay. I goaded you a lot back then. And…well, maybe I was jealous too.’ At Horace’s curious look, he went on. ‘I always wanted to be a knight—’ 

‘Really, I couldn’t tell,’ Horace said with a grin. Will elbowed him. ‘I always wanted to be a knight, but you were more suited to it than I was. I didn’t think I had much of a chance. It hit hard when we were younger.’ 

Horace grinned and shoved Will good-naturedly. ‘Little bastard, taking your insecurities out on me.’ Will laughed and, after a moment, leaned his head on Horace’s shoulder. They heard a distant call on a horn, but neither of them made a move to follow it. 

‘We’re missing out, you know,’ Will said after a bit. 

‘Then do something about it,’ Horace said. 

‘You do something about it.’ 

‘Fine, I will.’ Horace’s massive arms wrapped around Will and pulled him into his lap. 

Will buried his face in Horace’s shoulder. ‘That’s not what I meant, you oaf.’ 

‘Then do something about it, worm.’ 

‘Your insults suck.’ 

Horace punched his shoulder lightly and Will laughed. 

Another long note from a horn – then more horns joined it. ‘I think the hunt is over,’ Horace said. 

‘And we missed it,’ Will said. 

Horace stuck his fingers under Will’s chin and drew his face up to look at him. His thumb rubbed against the prickly stubble Will had been too tired to shave off that week. ‘Problem?’ 

Will smiled. He leaned in and brushed his lips against Horace’s, and after a moment Horace accepted the kiss. ‘No problem at all.’ 

*

Halt was at the edge of the trees, hood pulled low over his face. He had been asked to find the pair and bring them back, but stopped when he saw the tender embrace they were locked in. Now he smiled at the kiss and melted back into the forest, moving silently along familiar trails. 

Will knew the way home on his own. 


End file.
